Nine Stories

Half-mast land grants homesteading laws
Past Dodge Summit toward Athabasca Falls
Practicing our Avocets and Gnatcatcher calls

[Owl]
I laid down our guns where the soldierfish swam
And slept inside the shoe of the world's tallest man
And I saw Charlotte Corday with the knife in her hand
(It was nothing new)
I've perched on Steele Dakota's sandhill crane
I flew among the Paiute before the Mormon rain
I was in Virginia City for the stringing up of Clubfoot Lane
(But I've never seen anything like You)

All untied, by and by!
But I'd pour the matrimony wine
All untied, by and by!
So if you're ever so inclined
(So if you're ever so inclined)
(So if you're ever so inclined)

Low in a lodgepole branch nearby
A lovesick Barnyard, an amorous eye

[Walrus]
What unprecedented gift does this afternoon provide?
What from the air now calls to water on the land?
What from my seclusion does this charlatan demand?
What to do now with my best-laid eremetic plans?

[Owl]
I've been to the Arfaks where the Sicklebills fly
Seen Tangier's acrobatics nine stories high
I was there at Appomattox back in '65
When the General arrived
But I've never been in this room before!

[Walrus]
(Aside)
All untied, by and by!
That same old dream's trapped in my mind
All untied, by and by!
I'm bound in ropes and on the firing line
All untied, by and by!
Well I wake up disappointed every time
I wake up disappointed every time!
Oh, I wake up disappointed every time!

If the weather ever withers up your vine
Jacob knows a ladder you can climb
If that old thorn is still buried in your side
Jacob knows a ladder you can climb

[Owl]
Well if your Pacific rivers all run dry
Their clouds will fill my loud corrupted sky
And if the pleasures of your heavens ever end
That very ladder just as well descends

If the weather ever withers up your vine
Jacob knows a ladder you can climb
If that old thorn is still buried in your side
Jacob knows a ladder you can climb

And if your Pacific rivers all run dry
Their clouds will fill my loud corrupted sky
And if the pleasures of your heavens ever end...